Study Shows Need For Skilled Workers

December 18, 1986|By Sarah Oates of The Sentinel Staff

COCOA BEACH — The demand for skilled workers such as machinists and assemblers and for clerical and office help will rise sharply in Central Florida in the next three years, according to a report released Wednesday.

A study by the Mid-Florida Business and Research Center at Daytona Beach Community College said that employers in the area will need 28 percent more workers in the crafts and operatives field, which includes assemblers, handlers and machine operators; 18 percent more clerical workers; 17 percent more service workers such as hotel and restaurant employees; 16 percent more technicians; and 12 percent more mechanics and repairers. The demand for managers will rise by only 7 percent, the study found, and the need for agriculture workers by 1 percent.

While the work force in the region is expected to grow by about 30 percent over the next three years, various industries' segments of that labor market will not change, the report said.

The survey was an effort to define employment-training needs so that schools can meet those demands. As companies become better at predicting growth and labor requirements, schools can use those statistics to design programs that will train individuals for specific jobs, the report said.

Companies said they already have difficulty finding qualified applicants for positions as mill operators, secretaries, line installers, business managers, registered nurses, electrical engineers and for dozens of other trained jobs, the report said. Of the employers interviewed, 22 percent said they expect workers to be trained for the job before they are hired.

The study included 505 employers in Brevard, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, St. Lucie, Seminole and Volusia counties.